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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 11, 2022 20:20:57 GMT 1
It shows the strength of the current top 2. The question is how upcoming battle with next week's big entry
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 12, 2022 22:09:25 GMT 1
5 December 1981
1 ( 3 ) Dead Ringer For Love - Meat Loaf & Cher < 3rd / 2nd #1 > 2 ( 1 ) Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie (#1[3]) 3 ( 2 ) Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar (#2[2]) 4 ( 12 ) Centerfold - J Geils Band 5 ( -- ) Don't You Want Me - Human League 6 ( 5 ) I Go To Sleep - Pretenders (#5) 7 ( 15 ) Rock 'N' Roll - Status Quo 8 ( -- ) It Must Be Love - Madness 9 ( 4 ) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (#3) 10 ( 7 ) Bedsitter - Soft Cell (#7)
11 ( 9 ) Easier Said Than Done - Shakatak (#9) 12 ( 20 ) Good Morning Universe - Toyah 13 ( 11 ) I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (#11) 14 ( 6 ) The Voice - Ultravox (#5) 15 ( 23 ) The Land Of Make Believe - Bucks Fizz 16 ( 14 ) Wedding Bells - Godley & Creme (#14) 17 ( 10 ) Cambodia - Kim Wilde (#10) 18 ( 26 ) My Own Way - Duran Duran 19 ( 8 ) Twilight - Electric Light Orchestra (#2[1]) 20 ( 28 ) This Is Radio Clash - Clash
21 ( 13 ) Never Too Much - Luther Vandross (#12) 22 ( 21 ) We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World) - Boney M (#21) 23 ( 22 ) Sweetest Girl - Scritti Politti (#22) 24 ( 35 ) Disco Man - Damned 25 ( 18 ) Flashback - Imagination (#16) 26 ( -- ) Blackboard Jumble - Barron Knights 27 ( 19 ) Trouble - Lindsey Buckingham (#14) 28 ( 29 ) Poor Man's Son - Survivor 29 ( 16 ) Young Turks - Rod Stewart (#5) 30 ( 32 ) Can't Help Myself - Linx
31 ( 17 ) Open Your Heart - Human League (#1[4]) 32 ( -- ) Help Get Me Some Help - Ottawan 33 ( 25 ) Turn Your Love Around - George Benson (#21) 34 ( 34 ) Colours Fly By - Teardrop Explodes 35 ( 36 ) Buona Sera - Bad Manners 36 ( -- ) Love Needs No Disguise - Gary Numan & Dramatis 37 ( 48 ) I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World - Ronnie Milsap 38 ( 38 ) Ride The Love Train - Light Of The World 39 ( -- ) Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight - Eddie Rabbitt 40 ( 31 ) Paint Me Down - Spandau Ballet (#27)
41 ( 30 ) Penthouse And Pavement - Heaven 17 (#24) 42 ( -- ) Should I Do It - Pointer Sisters 43 ( 24 ) Let's Groove - Earth Wind & Fire (#7) 44 ( -- ) Wrack My Brain - Ringo Starr 45 ( 27 ) The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum - Fun Boy Three (#13) 46 ( -- ) Hit It - Beat 47 ( 37 ) Throwing My Baby Out With The Bathwater - Tenpole Tudor (#32) 48 ( 39 ) Yesterday's Songs - Neil Diamond (#33) 49 ( 33 ) Harden My Heart - Quarterflash (#17) 50 ( -- ) Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing - Tweets
-- ( 40 ) Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) - Haircut 100 (#5) -- ( 41 ) Chihuahua - Bow Wow Wow (#21) -- ( 42 ) Indian Reservation - 999 (#36) -- ( 43 ) Tears Are Not Enough - ABC (#11) -- ( 44 ) No Reply At All - Genesis (#27) -- ( 45 ) Starchild - Level 42 (#41) -- ( 46 ) Labelled With Love - Squeeze (#2[3]) -- ( 47 ) Heart Like A Wheel - Steve Miller Band (#44) -- ( 49 ) Joan Of Arc - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (#9) -- ( 50 ) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - Police (#3)
-- ( -- ) You Could Have Been With Me - Sheena Easton -- ( -- ) Ain't Got Me - Anti Pasti -- ( -- ) All That Glitters - Gary Glitter
As Meat Loaf and Cher claim the top spot we immediately get another classic entering the chart. The last Human League single "Open Your Heart" also entered at #5 and then immediately rose to #1 where it stayed for 4 weeks, before being replaced by Queen & David Bowie, and they are still in the chart, falling to #31 this week. Actually it's only been 9 weeks in the top 50 but the record company wanted another single quickly to promote the "Dare" album for the Christmas market, and Phil Oakey wasn't even that keen on Don't You Want Me, but of course it was a massive hit.
Behind that we get a cover by Madness - exactly 10 years since Labi Siffre's version reached NM #6 after entering at #14, the Madness version enters at #8 so looks set to do better.
And then the quality drops fast - the Barron Knights' latest medley of parodies - 1981 has been a year of medleys so you might have expected they'd do better but after a brief reprise with "Never Mind The Presents", they failed to go top 40 again with a song about schools that parodies "Prince Charming", "Wired For Sound" and "This Ole House".
The names of those entering below are all well known (well Gary Numan is anyway, not sure about Dramatis), albeit two of them are Ottawan and The Tweets.
There is nothing to get excited about in the last playlist of the year so I guess even if the Human League has to wait a bit behind Meat Loaf there's nothing else coming up in 1981 to challenge that pair. (Sorry Abba fans, not quite. Actually not even the best remaining song, but one of the few).
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 18, 2022 14:55:15 GMT 1
12 December 1981
1 ( 1 ) Dead Ringer For Love - Meat Loaf & Cher < 2nd week at #1 > 2 ( 5 ) Don't You Want Me - Human League 3 ( 2 ) Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie (#1[3]) 4 ( 4 ) Centerfold - J Geils Band 5 ( 3 ) Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar (#2[2]) 6 ( 8 ) It Must Be Love - Madness 7 ( 7 ) Rock 'N' Roll - Status Quo 8 ( 12 ) Good Morning Universe - Toyah 9 ( 6 ) I Go To Sleep - Pretenders (#5) 10 ( -- ) I Could Be Happy - Altered Images
11 ( -- ) One Of Us - Abba 12 ( 15 ) The Land Of Make Believe - Bucks Fizz 13 ( -- ) I'll Find My Way Home - Jon & Vangelis 14 ( 26 ) Blackboard Jumble - Barron Knights 15 ( -- ) Spirits In The Material World - Police 16 ( 18 ) My Own Way - Duran Duran 17 ( 11 ) Easier Said Than Done - Shakatak (#9) 18 ( 10 ) Bedsitter - Soft Cell (#7) 19 ( -- ) I Wanna Be A Winner - Brown Sauce 20 ( 9 ) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (#3)
21 ( 20 ) This Is Radio Clash - Clash (#20) 22 ( 13 ) I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (#11) 23 ( 32 ) Help Get Me Some Help - Ottawan 24 ( 24 ) Disco Man - Damned 25 ( 16 ) Wedding Bells - Godley & Creme (#14) 26 ( 36 ) Love Needs No Disguise - Gary Numan & Dramatis 27 ( -- ) Shake It Up - Cars 28 ( 14 ) The Voice - Ultravox (#5) 29 ( 39 ) Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight - Eddie Rabbitt 30 ( 22 ) We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World) - Boney M (#21)
31 ( 17 ) Cambodia - Kim Wilde (#10) 32 ( -- ) Stars Over 45 - Chas & Dave 33 ( 23 ) Sweetest Girl - Scritti Politti (#22) 34 ( -- ) Never In A Million Years - Boomtown Rats 35 ( 42 ) Should I Do It - Pointer Sisters 36 ( 28 ) Poor Man's Son - Survivor (#28) 37 ( -- ) Ant Rap - Adam & The Ants 38 ( 30 ) Can't Help Myself - Linx (#30) 39 ( 44 ) Wrack My Brain - Ringo Starr 40 ( 37 ) I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World - Ronnie Milsap (#37)
41 ( 21 ) Never Too Much - Luther Vandross (#12) 42 ( 19 ) Twilight - Electric Light Orchestra (#2[1]) 43 ( 46 ) Hit It - Beat 44 ( -- ) Waiting On A Friend - Rolling Stones 45 ( 25 ) Flashback - Imagination (#16) 46 ( -- ) She's Got A Way - Billy Joel 47 ( 34 ) Colours Fly By - Teardrop Explodes (#34) 48 ( 35 ) Buona Sera - Bad Manners (#35) 49 ( 27 ) Trouble - Lindsey Buckingham (#14) 50 ( 50 ) Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing - Tweets
-- ( 29 ) Young Turks - Rod Stewart (#5) -- ( 31 ) Open Your Heart - Human League (#1[4]) -- ( 33 ) Turn Your Love Around - George Benson (#21) -- ( 38 ) Ride The Love Train - Light Of The World -- ( 40 ) Paint Me Down - Spandau Ballet (#27) -- ( 41 ) Penthouse And Pavement - Heaven 17 (#24) -- ( 43 ) Let's Groove - Earth Wind & Fire (#7) -- ( 45 ) The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum - Fun Boy Three (#13) -- ( 47 ) Throwing My Baby Out With The Bathwater - Tenpole Tudor (#32) -- ( 48 ) Yesterday's Songs - Neil Diamond (#33) -- ( 49 ) Harden My Heart - Quarterflash (#17)
-- ( -- ) Sweet Dreams - Elvis Costello -- ( -- ) Perhaps Love - Placido Domingo & John Denver
This is the last good week for new hits in 1981, and then it isn't all the way down, so maybe some of those that fell out this week could have remained a bit longer.
In the UK chart this week Abba entered at #11 with "One Of Us" and it was the 2nd highest entry that week. So that is matched here, both entry position and that there's another one entering above it. In the UK chart that week it was Adam & The Ants entering at #9, and Abba passed that song the next week but eventually Ant Rap would also move up to #3. "One Of Us" would be Abba's last top 10 hit until their 2021 comeback when "Don't Shut Me Down" would reach #9, so still lower than this song.
Altered Images return with "I Could Be Happy". I had to find the right version, maybe the album version does have an intro that goes on forever. It isn't good - if it doesn't add anything to the song, don't have it there. The simple version lasting 3 minutes and 31 seconds though is a perfect pop song, albeit about trying to escape someone who is obviously being over-controlling.
Jon & Vangelis return with what would be their 2nd top 10 hit, this getting higher than the first, with Vangelis having had a solo instrumental hit in between with the theme to Chariots Of Fire. The second track from the album "The Friends Of Mr Cairo" would be covered near the end of 1982 with great effect.
Spirits In The Material World perhaps surprisingly failed to reach the UK top 10 for the Police. But they'd be back.
Then the Brown Sauce single, which is mostly written by B.A. Robertson and partly with Noel Edmonds, and namechecks a load of celebrities, and with Keith Chegwin who didn't just play pop but performed it, and Maggie Philbin doing most of the vocals, but Noel Edmonds himself singing the line "I just wanna be a winner". Keith Chegwin had actually sung in bands previously without success.
Somewhat disappointed with some of the acts lower down who are underperforming, and the Boomtown Rats in particular whose new "wall of sound" attempt just didn't catch on and this is pretty much "end of career" for them. Chas & Dave decided to join in the medley craze with a medley of "When I'm Cleaning Windows", "Run Rabbit Run", "The Laughing Policemen" and "Any Old Irons". We're almost expecting Russ Conway to make a comeback now with some more "party pops" or perhaps Winifred Atwell (who is still alive and will live just over one more year). Whilst the UK public in general rejected the new Rats, the Chas & Dave song was surprisingly, not counting sport-related songs, their 4th biggest UK hit, bigger than either Sideboard Song or Margate, neither of which reached the top 40.
After a great year, Adam & The Ants come up with this rap - ok they've tried different things, and it was a hit, albeit not as big as the others, but it's not a track of theirs anyone would bother to play now.
Elvis Costello too unfortunately, it was good picking up "Good Year For The Roses" but his Patsy Cline cover doesn't work quite as well. It may still chart here as when I run out of songs, some of them will go back onto the playlist. If I'd played this song in Haven Factor it would have got him straight into the sing-off. (A different song of the same title will be along just after the new year). The Rolling Stones song is "ok" but after Start Me Up, this is rather disappointing.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 19, 2022 20:59:41 GMT 1
19 December 1981
1 ( 1 ) Dead Ringer For Love - Meat Loaf & Cher < 3rd week at #1 > 2 ( 2 ) Don't You Want Me - Human League 3 ( 4 ) Centerfold - J Geils Band 4 ( 6 ) It Must Be Love - Madness 5 ( 3 ) Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie (#1[3]) 6 ( 10 ) I Could Be Happy - Altered Images 7 ( 5 ) Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar (#2[2]) 8 ( 11 ) One Of Us - Abba 9 ( 13 ) I'll Find My Way Home - Jon & Vangelis 10 ( 15 ) Spirits In The Material World - Police
11 ( 8 ) Good Morning Universe - Toyah (#8) 12 ( 19 ) I Wanna Be A Winner - Brown Sauce 13 ( 7 ) Rock 'N' Roll - Status Quo (#7) 14 ( 14 ) Blackboard Jumble - Barron Knights 15 ( 12 ) The Land Of Make Believe - Bucks Fizz (#12) 16 ( -- ) Get Down On It - Kool & The Gang 17 ( 27 ) Shake It Up - Cars 18 ( 9 ) I Go To Sleep - Pretenders (#5) 19 ( 16 ) My Own Way - Duran Duran (#16) 20 ( -- ) Don't Walk Away - Four Tops
21 ( 32 ) Stars Over 45 - Chas & Dave 22 ( 23 ) Help Get Me Some Help - Ottawan 23 ( 34 ) Never In A Million Years - Boomtown Rats 24 ( 26 ) Love Needs No Disguise - Gary Numan & Dramatis 25 ( 37 ) Ant Rap - Adam & The Ants 26 ( 29 ) Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight - Eddie Rabbitt 27 ( 21 ) This Is Radio Clash - Clash (#20) 28 ( 17 ) Easier Said Than Done - Shakatak (#9) 29 ( 24 ) Disco Man - Damned (#24) 30 ( 18 ) Bedsitter - Soft Cell (#7)
31 ( 44 ) Waiting On A Friend - Rolling Stones 32 ( 35 ) Should I Do It - Pointer Sisters 33 ( 46 ) She's Got A Way - Billy Joel 34 ( 22 ) I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (#11) 35 ( 20 ) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (#3) 36 ( 25 ) Wedding Bells - Godley & Creme (#14) 37 ( -- ) Come Go With Me - Beach Boys 38 ( 39 ) Wrack My Brain - Ringo Starr 39 ( -- ) Sweet Dreams - Elvis Costello 40 ( -- ) Leader Of The Band - Dan Fogelberg
41 ( 30 ) We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World) - Boney M (#21) 42 ( 43 ) Hit It - Beat 43 ( -- ) Perhaps Love - Placido Domingo & John Denver 44 ( 28 ) The Voice - Ultravox (#5) 45 ( 33 ) Sweetest Girl - Scritti Politti (#22) 46 ( -- ) Trini Trax - Trini Lopez 47 ( 40 ) I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World - Ronnie Milsap (#37) 48 ( 36 ) Poor Man's Son - Survivor (#28) 49 ( 31 ) Cambodia - Kim Wilde (#10) 50 ( 38 ) Can't Help Myself - Linx (#30)
-- ( 41 ) Never Too Much - Luther Vandross (#12) -- ( 42 ) Twilight - Electric Light Orchestra (#2[1]) -- ( 45 ) Flashback - Imagination (#16) -- ( 47 ) Colours Fly By - Teardrop Explodes (#34) -- ( 48 ) Buona Sera - Bad Manners (#35) -- ( 49 ) Trouble - Lindsey Buckingham (#14) -- ( 50 ) Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing - Tweets
-- ( -- ) More Than Just The Two Of Us - Sneaker
I said the year was pretty much done for the great new songs. So this week's highest entry is Kool & The Gang's "Get Down On It" which would become their biggest UK hit to date, with them having a top 10 hit near the end of the year 3 years in a row. On this chart their biggest hit so far is "Celebration" which reached #5 and is probably also their best ever song.
The Four Tops had their biggest UK hit with "Reach Out I'll Be There" getting to #1 in 1966 in this chart "I Can't Help Myself" #2 a year earlier, and their last single "When She Was My Girl" got to UK #3 but only NM #11. They might get into the top 10 this time though with "Don't Walk Away", a song title that last year was in the chart for E.L.O with a different song.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 20, 2022 17:34:40 GMT 1
26 December 1981
1 ( 2 ) Don't You Want Me - Human League < 2nd #1 > 2 ( 1 ) Dead Ringer For Love - Meat Loaf & Cher (#1[3]) 3 ( 4 ) It Must Be Love - Madness 4 ( 3 ) Centerfold - J Geils Band (#3) 5 ( 6 ) I Could Be Happy - Altered Images 6 ( 8 ) One Of Us - Abba 7 ( 5 ) Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie (#1[3]) 8 ( 9 ) I'll Find My Way Home - Jon & Vangelis 9 ( 12 ) I Wanna Be A Winner - Brown Sauce 10 ( 7 ) Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) - Dollar (#2[2])
11 ( 16 ) Get Down On It - Kool & The Gang 12 ( 10 ) Spirits In The Material World - Police (#10) 13 ( 20 ) Don't Walk Away - Four Tops 14 ( 17 ) Shake It Up - Cars 15 ( 21 ) Stars Over 45 - Chas & Dave 16 ( 14 ) Blackboard Jumble - Barron Knights (#14) 17 ( 11 ) Good Morning Universe - Toyah (#8) 18 ( 23 ) Never In A Million Years - Boomtown Rats 19 ( 25 ) Ant Rap - Adam & The Ants 20 ( -- ) Love Is Alright Tonite - Rick Springfield
21 ( 15 ) The Land Of Make Believe - Bucks Fizz (#12) 22 ( -- ) Hold My Hand - Ken Dodd 23 ( 13 ) Rock 'N' Roll - Status Quo (#7) 24 ( 37 ) Come Go With Me - Beach Boys 25 ( 22 ) Help Get Me Some Help - Ottawan (#22) 26 ( 31 ) Waiting On A Friend - Rolling Stones 27 ( 24 ) Love Needs No Disguise - Gary Numan & Dramatis (#24) 28 ( -- ) Take It Easy On Me - Little River Band 29 ( 19 ) My Own Way - Duran Duran (#16) 30 ( 39 ) Sweet Dreams - Elvis Costello
31 ( 26 ) Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight - Eddie Rabbitt (#26) 32 ( 33 ) She's Got A Way - Billy Joel 33 ( 40 ) Leader Of The Band - Dan Fogelberg 34 ( 18 ) I Go To Sleep - Pretenders (#5) 35 ( 43 ) Perhaps Love - Placido Domingo & John Denver 36 ( -- ) Brideshead Theme - Geoffrey Burgon 37 ( 32 ) Should I Do It - Pointer Sisters (#32) 38 ( 46 ) Trini Trax - Trini Lopez 39 ( 27 ) This Is Radio Clash - Clash (#20) 40 ( 29 ) Disco Man - Damned (#24)
41 ( 38 ) Wrack My Brain - Ringo Starr (#38) 42 ( 28 ) Easier Said Than Done - Shakatak (#9) 43 ( -- ) One Nine For Santa - Fogwell Flax & The Anklebiters 44 ( 42 ) Hit It - Beat (#42) 45 ( 30 ) Bedsitter - Soft Cell (#7) 46 ( 34 ) I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (#11) 47 ( -- ) More Than Just The Two Of Us - Sneaker 48 ( 36 ) Wedding Bells - Godley & Creme (#14) 49 ( 35 ) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (#3) 50 ( 41 ) We Kill The World (Don't Kill The World) - Boney M (#21)
-- ( 44 ) The Voice - Ultravox (#5) -- ( 45 ) Sweetest Girl - Scritti Politti (#22) -- ( 47 ) I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World - Ronnie Milsap (#37) -- ( 48 ) Poor Man's Son - Survivor (#28) -- ( 49 ) Cambodia - Kim Wilde (#10) -- ( 50 ) Can't Help Myself - Linx (#30)
Ok, I'm never certain on which week is the Christmas chart, and therefore whether Meat Loaf & Cher or The Human League is the official NM Christmas number one of 1981.
You might use 1987 as the cut-off point, so before 1987 it would be the chart dated on or after 25 December and from that year on it would be the one dated before. I had a change of #1 in 2009 as well in which 26 December was also a Saturday and I considered the new one to be Christmas #1 so I'll say that Human League are here.
The same thing comes up regarding 'birthday number one' so the NM #1 on my date of birth is in dispute as it changed on the Saturday immediately after.
You can see I was pretty short of songs here, and the only things that failed to chart was Hokey Cokey by the Snowmen plus a version of Jingle Bells, a Christmas medley of carols and a rework of "When A Child Is Born" featuring Gladys Knight as well as Johnny Mathis.
None of those will be put onto the playlist next week which means it will have no new entries as both the UK and US chart are frozen, but I prefer not to freeze mine, albeit I did at the time and treated it like the chart didn't exist, e.g. I'd have said that Pink Floyd and the Human League only had 4 weeks at #1 and Saint Winifred's School Choir only 1.
Among those in the chart is one Christmas song "One Nine For Santa" which is a parody of Teddy Bear with a narration and featuring truckers and a sad boy who isn't going to get any Christmas presents so they guy arranges that on his CB radio. Where it is slightly better than Teddy Bear is that this contains a chorus line at various times ending the spoken dialogue, plus the fact you just know it's intended to be comic.
But what about that entry at #22? Between 1960 and 1975 I counted 16 Ken Dodd songs on my playlist of which a massive 3 charted, and his highest peak was #19 so he needs to just climb a bit higher to get his biggest NM hit.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 20, 2022 17:40:44 GMT 1
1981 complete, I'll compile the chart of the year and listen to that. And I'll post it here soon. I also will find a few albums from that year to listen to.
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Sept 20, 2022 18:19:30 GMT 1
After nine weeks of Bucks Fizz domination with "The Land of Make Believe" my # 1 hits were "I Could Be Happy" and "Toy Boys" (final fifth number one for Sue Wilkinson). Mandy Smith's version of "Don't You Want Me" is my favourite single from 1989 year. She repeated Sue's record and it was her fifth consecutive and last # 1.
"I Wanna Be A Winner" is very good, possibly will hit top 3 in "GD".
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 21, 2022 14:01:19 GMT 1
My sister loved Brideshead Revisited and possibly had a crush on Jeremy Irons. I didn't watch it myself.
The theme to me is strongly reminiscent of the Adagio 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony transposed from a minor to a major.
Listen to both and see if you can hear what I mean.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 21, 2022 21:03:18 GMT 1
I'll be posting the chart of the year soon and also the top 30 artists of the year. I wonder if you can guess - What is the highest placed single that didn't get to #1 - Which artist has the highest placed 2nd hit, i.e. their second biggest hit
In 1981 there were 3 artists who had a big hit that reached the top 10 and a smaller one that didn't reach the top 20, and in each case their top 10 hit was also a top 10 hit in my chart but the one that didn't reach the UK top 20 was bigger. It might partly be timing, but not in one case when I definitely prefer the one that did better in my chart and worse in the UK.
These are:
John Lennon - Watching The Wheels. In the UK "Woman" was a #1 and "Watching The Wheels" only #30. In my chart "Woman" peaked at #7 but "Watching The Wheels" was a #1, and a song I far prefer.
Teardrop Explodes - Passionate Friend. In the UK "Reward" reached #6 and "Passionate Friend" #25. In my chart both singles entered at #14 and "Reward" was even the highest entry in its week while "Passionate Friend" was the second highest, but the former only got to #5 and the latter #3. It is probably fair to say the top end was a bit stronger when "Reward" reached its peak.
Electric Light Orchestra - Twilight. Like "Watching The Wheels" its UK peak was #30. "Hold On Tight" reached #4 in the UK chart and #3 in mine, but "Twilight" got one place higher reaching #2. I thought Twilight had a shorter run and therefore might have been lower in the chart of the year but no, it is placed higher.
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Sept 21, 2022 21:42:15 GMT 1
Human League had only one hit in my chart, which got the worst result for Human League single in UK for ten years period.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 21, 2022 21:53:09 GMT 1
Human League had only one hit in my chart, which got the worst result for Human League single in UK for ten years period. Probably "One Man In My Heart" as it's the only single of theirs I can think of with an entirely female lead vocal. "Don't You Want Me" became the 5th single of 1981 to top both the UK and NM chart. Adam & The Ants had two of them with "Stand And Deliver" and "Prince Charming", the others were "Ghost Town" by the Specials and "Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie. As mentioned above, John Lennon had a #1 in both charts in 1981 but not with the same single. In the UK, Adam & The Ants and Shakin' Stevens had two #1s. In my chart Adam & The Ants had 3, Styx and the Human League each had 2. Every NM #1 in 1981 reached the top 10 either in the UK or the USA (or both). I mentioned the lack of success of "Watching The Wheels" in the UK but in the USA it peaked at #10. I'm not sure if there's any other year in NM chart history when that happened.
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Sept 21, 2022 22:01:20 GMT 1
Probably "One Man In My Heart" as it's the only single of theirs I can think of with an entirely female lead vocal. No. It was UK # 77 flop "Soundtrack To A Generation".
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Good Old Days
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Post by Good Old Days on Sept 25, 2022 10:37:45 GMT 1
I also will find a few albums from that year to listen to. ABBA - The Visitors ?
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 28, 2022 20:42:18 GMT 1
Let's start the chart of the year, 150 up to 101 150 | Jole Blon | - | Gary U.S. Bonds | 149 | When She Was My Girl | - | Four Tops | 148 | Shut Up | - | Madness | 147 | The Elephant's Graveyard (Guilty) | - | Boomtown Rats | 146 | O Superman | - | Laurie Anderson | 145 | He Can't Love You | - | Michael Stanley Band | 144 | Up The Hill Backwards | - | David Bowie | 143 | Physical | - | Olivia Newton-John | 142 | Twilight Cafe | - | Susan Fassbender | 141 | You Make My Dreams | - | Daryl Hall & John Oates | 140 | The Return Of The Los Palmas Seven | - | Madness | 139 | Cambodia | - | Kim Wilde | 138 | One Day In Your Life | - | Michael Jackson | 137 | Waiting For A Girl Like You | - | Foreigner | 136 | Lately | - | Stevie Wonder | 135** | I Could Be Happy | - | Altered Images | 134 | Joan Of Arc | - | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | 133 | Tempted | - | Squeeze | 132 | Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do) | - | Christopher Cross | 131 | It's A Mystery | - | Toyah | 130 | Wordy Rappinghood | - | Tom Tom Club | 129* | Young Parisians | - | Adam & The Ants | 128 | It's Going To Happen | - | Undertones | 127 | Computer Love | - | Kraftwerk | 126** | Good Morning Universe | - | Toyah | 125** | Easier Said Than Done | - | Shakatak | 124 | Bette Davis Eyes | - | Kim Carnes | 123 | Grey Day | - | Madness | 122 | Hooked On Classics | - | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | 121* | Stop The Cavalry | - | Jona Lewie | 120 | This Ole House | - | Shakin' Stevens | 119 | Small Ads | - | Small Ads | 118 | Start Me Up | - | Rolling Stones | 117 | Pretend | - | Alvin Stardust | 116* | Fade To Grey | - | Visage | 115 | Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through | - | Jim Steinman | 114** | Rock 'N' Roll | - | Status Quo | 113 | All Stood Still | - | Ultravox | 112 | All Those Years Ago | - | George Harrison | 111 | Pretty In Pink | - | Psychedelic Furs | 110 | Planet Earth | - | Duran Duran | 109 | Water On Glass | - | Kim Wilde | 108 | Southern Freeez | - | Freeez | 107 | Body Talk | - | Imagination | 106* | I Am The Beat | - | The Look | 105 | Invisible Sun | - | Police | 104 | It's A Love Thing | - | Whispers | 103 | Let's Groove | - | Earth Wind & Fire | 102 | Pull Up To The Bumper | - | Grace Jones | 101 | Wunderbar | - | Tenpole Tudor |
* means the song was in the chart in 1980 ** means it was in the final chart of 1981 and will be in the first chart of 1982 as that will have no new entries I am quite surprised that "Shut Up" by Madness is so low, even below "Return Of The Los Palmas Seven". It entered at #19 then climbed to #10, stayed there a second week then fell rather quickly. They were the top act of 1980.
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Post by Earl Purple on Sept 29, 2022 21:59:31 GMT 1
100 up to 51 100* | (Just Like) Starting Over | - | John Lennon | 99 | Take It On The Run | - | REO Speedwagon | 98 | Bermuda Triangle | - | Barry Manilow | 97 | Believe It Or Not | - | Joey Scarbury | 96 | Rock This Town | - | Stray Cats | 95 | D-Days | - | Hazel O'Connor | 94 | You'll Never Know | - | Hi-Gloss | 93** | Bedsitter | - | Soft Cell | 92 | Lay All Your Love On Me | - | Abba | 91 | Musclebound | - | Spandau Ballet | 90 | Can Can | - | Bad Manners | 89 | Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me) | - | XTC | 88 | The Sound Of The Crowd | - | Human League | 87 | Going Back To My Roots | - | Odyssey | 86 | The Voice | - | Moody Blues | 85 | Private Eyes | - | Daryl Hall & John Oates | 84 | I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us | - | Meat Loaf | 83 | Can You Feel It | - | Jacksons | 82 | Woman | - | John Lennon | 81 | Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) | - | Haircut 100 | 80 | It's My Party | - | Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin | 79* | I Ain't Gonna Stand For It | - | Stevie Wonder | 78 | Thunder In The Mountains | - | Toyah | 77 | Tonight I'm Yours | - | Rod Stewart | 76 | Mind Of A Toy | - | Visage | 75 | Sat In Your Lap | - | Kate Bush | 74 | I Surrender | - | Rainbow | 73 | So This Is Romance | - | Linx | 72 | Young Turks | - | Rod Stewart | 71 | Ossie's Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley) | - | Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Final Squad | 70** | It Must Be Love | - | Madness | 69 | Stars On 45 | - | Starsound | 68 | Walk Right Now | - | Jacksons | 67 | Abacab | - | Genesis | 66 | Jealous Guy | - | Roxy Music | 65 | Hand Held In Black And White | - | Dollar | 64 | You Might Need Somebody | - | Randy Crawford | 63 | For Your Eyes Only | - | Sheena Easton | 62 | Piece Of The Action | - | Bucks Fizz | 61 | Making Your Mind Up | - | Bucks Fizz | 60 | The Voice | - | Ultravox | 59 | While You See A Chance | - | Steve Winwood | 58 | Rapture | - | Blondie | 57 | That's Entertainment | - | Jam | 56** | I Go To Sleep | - | Pretenders | 55 | Wired For Sound | - | Cliff Richard | 54 | Is That Love | - | Squeeze | 53 | New Life | - | Depeche Mode | 52 | Einstein A Go-Go | - | Landscape | 51 | Is Vic There | - | Department S |
Two different songs called "The Voice". 1981 does of course also contain two different songs called "Happy Birthday". A curious fact - no singles reached both UK and US #1 in 1981, but "(Just Like) Starting Over" was #1 in the USA when the year started and was replaced by "The Tide Is High" and both of those were #1 in the UK in 1980, whilst the last UK #1 of the year "Don't You Want Me" went on to reach #1 in the USA in 1982. No US #1s from reached NM #1 other than "(Just Like) Starting Over" which was NM #3 on the first week of the year having originally peaked at #2 and then climbed back up to #1 when John Lennon died. Not sure how well you can compare 1981 and 1972 but "Blue Is The Colour" was #35 of the year in 1972 so higher than the #71 here for Spurs. So let's compare the songs that were one above it and one below it in each year: ok I need to skip "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" as it was in the chart at the end of the year, so "Doctor My Eyes" by Jackson Browne was one place higher and "Rockin' Robin" by Michael Jackson one place lower. Compare those to "Young Turks" and "Stars On 45" as again we have to skip Madness who were in the last chart of the year... not sure really, "Young Turks" is probably the best song from that whole list, it's all a matter of when they were in the chart.
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Post by Earl Purple on Oct 1, 2022 21:39:08 GMT 1
50 to 1 50 | Chequered Love | - | Kim Wilde | 49** | Centerfold | - | J Geils Band | 48 | Reward | - | Teardrop Explodes | 47 | Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) | - | Spandau Ballet | 46 | Being With You | - | Smokey Robinson | 45 | Under Your Thumb | - | Godley & Creme | 44* | 9 To 5 | - | Dolly Parton | 43 | Keep On Loving You | - | REO Speedwagon | 42 | Hold On Tight | - | Electric Light Orchestra | 41** | Don't Stop Believin' | - | Journey | 40** | Don't You Want Me | - | Human League | 39 | Girls On Film | - | Duran Duran | 38 | Good Year For The Roses | - | Elvis Costello | 37 | Just Can't Get Enough | - | Depeche Mode | 36 | Passionate Friend | - | Teardrop Explodes | 35 | Ai No Corrida | - | Quincy Jones | 34 | In The Air Tonight | - | Phil Collins | 33 | Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic | - | Police | 32 | Swords Of A Thousand Men | - | Tenpole Tudor | 31 | Love Action (I Believe In Love) | - | Human League | 30 | Just The Two Of Us | - | Grover Washington Jr & Bill Withers | 29 | Happy Birthday | - | Altered Images | 28 | Once In A Lifetime | - | Talking Heads | 27 | Twilight | - | Electric Light Orchestra | 26** | Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour) | - | Dollar | 25* | Antmusic | - | Adam & The Ants | 24 | Tainted Love | - | Soft Cell | 23 | Labelled With Love | - | Squeeze | 22** | Dead Ringer For Love | - | Meat Loaf & Cher | 21 | Slow Hand | - | Pointer Sisters | 20 | One In Ten | - | UB40 | 19 | Chi Mai | - | Ennio Morricone | 18 | I Want To Be Free | - | Toyah | 17 | There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis | - | Kirsty MacColl | 16 | Souvenir | - | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | 15 | The One That You Love | - | Air Supply | 14 | Prince Charming | - | Adam & The Ants | 13 | Stand And Deliver | - | Adam & The Ants | 12 | Vienna | - | Ultravox | 11** | Under Pressure | - | Queen & David Bowie | 10 | Kids In America | - | Kim Wilde | 9 | Too Much Time On My Hands | - | Styx | 8 | You Better You Bet | - | Who | 7 | Open Your Heart | - | Human League | 6 | Watching The Wheels | - | John Lennon | 5 | Ghost Town | - | Specials | 4 | Romeo And Juliet | - | Dire Straits | 3 | The Best Of Times | - | Styx | 2 | Happy Birthday | - | Stevie Wonder | 1 | Will You | - | Hazel O'Connor |
Certainly that top 2 is no surprise. Styx have two songs in the top 10 and "Too Much Time In My Hands" is the highest placed 2nd song. It was always going to be them or Adam & The Ants wasn't it? But the latter have both their 1981 songs behind that one at #13 and #14. But as Styx had no other hits at all in 1981, the bets would be on Adam & The Ants for top act of the year? I'll be counting that down next. No new US #1s of 1981 reached #1 on this chart but "The One That You Love" came close and is the highest placed song that didn't reach the top. Kirsty and Toyah just behind it were all out at the same time, but couldn't get past Hazel O'Connor. If I make a video show with all the number ones and number twos it would be unfair that Toyah wouldn't qualify, so I might add her anyway, I think I've previously added the occasional #3.
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Post by Earl Purple on Oct 2, 2022 21:40:07 GMT 1
The top 30 acts of the year. Combinations count for both acts if they are personally named on them, thus Queen & David Bowie or Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, although that duet didn't get anyone on the list. Not combined are Phil Collins with Genesis, neither of whom made the top 30 but Phil Collins is just outside and would be comfortably inside if the 3 Genesis hits were added in, one of which reached the top 5. Michael Jackson had an old song return to the chart plus three hits with the Jacksons but they are not combined. Without those combinations, Phil Collins is #32 and the Jacksons #34.
Number of hits is the number of songs they had in the chart during the year, even if one of them was a big hit in 1980 and had just one more week in the chart in 1981, in which case only that week is counted.
This post is numbers 30 to 16, tomorrow I hope to post 15 to 1
30. REO Speedwagon, 4 hits, biggest hit "Keep On Loving You". Yes, they had 2 other hits as well as the well known ones. 29. Altered Images, 3 hits, biggest hit "Happy Birthday". Of course they'd be higher given a few more weeks as "I Could Be Happy" is #3 on the last chart of the year 28. Air Supply, 2 hits, biggest hit "The One That You Love". Expect more from them though in 1982! 27. Tenpole Tudor, 3 hits, biggest hit "Swords Of A Thousand Men". 26. Queen, 2 hits, biggest hit "Under Pressure". The other was "Flash" still in the chart as the year entered. 25. Soft Cell, 2 hits, biggest hit "Tainted Love". 24. Police, 3 hits, biggest hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" 23. Duran Duran, 4 hits, biggest hit "Girls On Film". 22. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, 2 hits, biggest hit "Souvenir".
next up are two acts who, at the start of the year, you probably wouldn't have expected to see on this list:
21. The Who, 2 hits, biggest hit "You Better You Bet". 20. Dollar, 2 hits, biggest hit "Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour)".
19. Spandau Ballet, 4 hits, biggest hit "Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)"
and next up an act I'd have expected to be much higher:
18. Madness, 5 hits, biggest hit "It Must Be Love". Although one of those 5 was "Embarrassment" still on the chart at the start of the year, and the last one "It Must Be Love" is still in the chart at the end, the 3 in between all just scraped inside the top 10 and thus leaves them surprisingly low. Still 1982 will surely be a bigger year for them.
17. Depeche Mode, 3 hits, biggest hit "Just Can't Get Enough". From next year though they'll have to get along without Vince Clarke. Still, 1984 will be an even better year for them.
16. Electric Light Orchestra, 2 hits, biggest hit "Twilight". Yet another good year for them, 6 in a row, but the run will end now as they will have limited success from now on. The album "Time" was rather good though.
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Post by Earl Purple on Oct 3, 2022 15:06:59 GMT 1
Ok, let's see who were the biggest 15 acts of the year
15. Bucks Fizz, 4 hits, biggest hit "Making Your Mind Up" (which was only slightly ahead of Piece Of The Action) 14. The Specials, 2 hits, biggest hit "Ghost Town". The other being "Do Nothing" in the chart at the start of the year having first charted in 1980, but it doesn't include the Fun Boy Three who had a hit later on in the year. 13. Teardrop Explodes, 4 hits, biggest hit "Passionate Friend". 12. David Bowie, 3 hits, biggest hit "Under Pressure". 11. Squeeze, 3 hits, biggest hit "Labelled With Love".
10. Dire Straits, 3 hits, biggest hit "Romeo And Juliet". 9. Toyah, 4 hits, biggest hit "I Want To Be Free". 8. John Lennon, 3 hits, biggest hit "Watching The Wheels". Unlike in the UK chart he didn't benefit from back-catalogue, but the lingering of "Just Like Starting Over" did help towards this total. 7. Ultravox, 5 hits, biggest hit "Vienna". (Joe Dolce is a long way down this list) 6. Kim Wilde, 4 hits, biggest hit "Kids In America".
and now for the top 5, beginning with the two acts who had the top 2 of the year but they neither of them is the act of the year
5. Stevie Wonder, 3 hits, biggest hit "Happy Birthday". 4. Hazel O'Connor, 4 hits, biggest hit "Will You".
3. Styx, 2 hits, biggest hit "The Best Of Times". Their album "Paradise Theatre" was the #1 album of the year.
2. The Human League, 5 hits, biggest hit "Open Your Heart". Probably 2-3 more weeks and they might have got the act of the year.
1. Adam & The Ants, 6 hits, biggest hit "Stand And Deliver". But to be fair to Adam & The Ants, they would be further ahead expanding the other way (into the last few weeks of 1980), as well as that making "Antmusic" their biggest hit.
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Good Old Days
Member
Sielos grožio niekas nepavogs, kol širdy jaunystė gros.
Posts: 2,973
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Post by Good Old Days on Oct 26, 2022 9:14:31 GMT 1
When you will start to post 1982 charts ?
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Post by Earl Purple on Oct 27, 2022 15:31:54 GMT 1
I am listening to the first 1982 playlist now. The first chart of 1982 will have one new entry.
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